Cute Calves

Friday 14th September, 2012 at Woolhampton
A rather grey start to the day, with some drizzle, eventually giving way to a bright but breezy day.
We said farewell to Thatcham; not the most picturesque of the towns on the K&A, but it's served us well in terms of transport links and shopping.
We shared the three locks between Thatcham and Woolhampton with a hireboat nb "Ufton Lock" and heard the saga of their problems with their two toilets! We already know that narrowboat toilets are a law unto themselves; M refers to our own toilet as "Quatermass" - enough said! At Woolhampton, a man from the hire company was there with a new toilet for their boat, which he fitted while they all waited on the towpath to get away from the smell. They were very pleased that it wasn't raining!
The breeze was so strong that M, having struggled to open one of the swing bridges, then watched indignantly as the wind promptly blew it shut again. A nice chap on a bicycle, saw her fighting a losing battle to re-open it, and came to her aid. He was cycling all the way from Reading to South Wales for charity.
We moored up above Woolhampton lock and, after lunch, set off for a walk, OS Map in hand. The old coaching village of Woolhampton has more or less been ruined by the advent of the A4 road that drives right through the middle.

Our path took us through lovely meadows and a very pretty herd of cows with their calves.

 

 Eventually we came to Midgham Church, which we have frequently admired from both the canal and from the train, as it sits very high and prominent on the hills to the north. Close up, St. Matthew's is a beautiful work of architecture and we were pleasantly surprised to find it open, so we were able to look around and sign the visitor's book.

It was all downhill back to the canal and we then walked down the towpath to MM, the total distance was four miles, so a fairly respectable distance. Along the way we sampled some of the blackberries, which are now in abundance in the hedgerows; they are ripe and sweet. The sloes, however, are not ready or abundant so we may have problems finding enough for this year's batch of Sloe Gin.
At bedtime, we stood on the stern deck looking in wonder at the night sky. It was one of those rare nights when, even in southern England, you can see the Milky Way. Wonderful!
Today: 3 miles, 3 locks and 1.9 hours.
Trip: 274 miles, 286 locks and 230.4 hours (383.1 total).